It No Longer Matters
by Tiliger
Summary: (After a huge battle) The battle is over or at least it seems like it is. Will Sebastian ever stop? Will Clary ever recover? Will Jace be okay? Read to find out. Please review! I love Reviews!
1. Chapter 1

Clary Fray stood on a hill overlooking the battlefield that held close to 400 hundred bodies. Death filled the once clean, meadow air and the once green colored grass, was now blood red. How did this happen? Why did this happen? Questions Clary wondered herself. She knew that "Team Good" had won the battle but she didn't know who had survived. She would have to check each and every fallen body.

She made her way slowly down the hill and began examining the remains of Shadow hunters and Downworlders. The Shadowhunters from L.A. where all dead including the young girl named Emma Carstairs and the young boy named Julian Blackthorn. The Institute from London had lost Miss Jessamine Lovelace. The rest of the Shadowhunters and Downworlders were complete strangers to Clary. All were strangers except for two.

"Mom," Clary shrieked, tears rushing down her face.

Jocelyn's eyes were closed and there was no life left to save for there was a blade stabbed directly in her heart. Blood was everywhere.

Clary looked around and shrieked again. She found a man right next to her mother with brown hair. Luke. He was dead along with the others but his eyes still remained open. They screamed with death.

Clary cried as she closed them. She then put her hands in her lap and sobbed, unaware that there were people behind her.

A hand touched her shoulder and she whirled around to find Jace's familiar face along with Isabelle's and Alec's. Alec was checking his sister for wounds while Jace took Clary in his arms and held her tight as she sobbed for 10 more minutes. "I know, Clary," Jace said. "I know it hurts but we have to go, Sebastian could be back any minute now to finish the rest of us off."

Clary looked at him. His gear was torn and his arm was bleeding. His golden eyes were dull and his golden hair was matted with blood from a cut on his forehead. She put her fingertips to it. "What happened?"

"I was fighting and I got careless." Jace stood up and helped Clary to her feet.

"Jace," Isabelle called from a little ways ahead. Her face was serious and had a cut on her cheek. Her gear was also torn and her jet-black hair was in a high ponytail. "We need to get out of here, now!"

"Can you walk," Jace asked Clary.

She nodded and looked around. "Where's Simon?"

Jace looked away and so did Isabelle. Alec was the one who spoke.

"We haven't found him yet. We haven't found anyone but you, Clary." Alec quickly looked away. He had a sad face and blood running down his jaw. He held the pieces to his broken bow in his left hand and his stele in the right.

Clary stopped walking. She couldn't handle this. She couldn't handle the fact that Luke and her mom were dead. She couldn't handle the fact that her best friend was still missing.

Jace motioned to Isabelle and Alec to keep going while he stayed back with Clary. "We will find him. I promise."

She hugged him and he hugged back. They began walking again.


	2. Chapter 2

**_Hey everyone! I hope you liked the first chapter and I hope you like this one as well. Read it and tell me what you think. Any mistakes? Let me know! I will try to update this once or twice a week. I start high school in a few weeks and I still have to finish my summer homework but don't worry, I'll remember to update. Enjoy reading! _**

**_~Tiliger_**

The next few hours were a complete drag; Clary still couldn't get the image of her dead mother out of her head. She had a feeling it would haunt her for the rest of her life. Part of her felt like it was her fault that Luke and her mother were dead. If she hadn't gone to that club that night, none of this would have happened. But another part of her said it wasn't her fault, it said she still would have lost Luke and her mom anyways. And now her best friend was missing because of this battle that happened—

"Earth to Clary," Isabelle said, interrupting Clary's thoughts. "Are you okay? You keep tuning all of us out."

Clary nodded. "I keep getting lost in thought, sorry."

Alec looked at her. "Well can you stop, you're going to start worrying Jace," he said as he pointed to Jace, who was a little further ahead of everyone. "And we all know that he can't concentrate when he's worried about you."

Clary looked down at her feet; a few stray tears had found their way down her cheeks. Isabelle put her arm around her.

"Alec," Isabelle said in a warning tone. "How many times do I have to tell you—"

"I'm sorry, okay," Alec asked, interrupting his sister.

Clary looked at Alec who still had a sad face. "Magnus," she whispered.

Alec heard her and he looked away. "I don't know," he said before she said anymore.

"What happened," Clary asked. "We've checked every corps and not a single one is Magnus, Simon, Maia, Jordan, or your parents. Where did they all go?"

"That's the thing, we don't know," Isabelle sighed. "We were lucky to find you."

"How did you find me?"

"Pure luck," Alec suggested.

Isabelle glared at him and continued talking. "We heard a shriek over by the hills so we started running in that direction, figuring someone just found a dead body of a loved one. We didn't know it was you until we rounded the corner and saw your fiery red hair."

Alec laughed. "Jace nearly had a panic attack when he realized it was you."

Jace whipped around and walked up to Alec. "It wasn't funny! I actually thought she was dead."

"Well, she's not so now we can laugh about it," Alec said

Jace glared at Alec. "At least I found the love of _my_ life."

"Alec, can I talk to you for a sec," Isabelle asked Alec before he could say anything. Isabelle dragged her brother ahead of Clary and Jace.

Clary looked at Jace. "You shouldn't have said that."

He kicked at a rock on the ground. "Yeah, well, that's me. Always saying things I shouldn't."

"Jace, why haven't you used your stele yet?"

"Um, I forgot." He started walking away.

Clary ran to catch up to him. "Jace, your head is still bleeding." She put her hand on his chest to stop him from walking.

He looked into her eyes. "I'm perfectly fine, Clary."

"Stop, Jace, I know you're not."

He said nothing and looked away.

"Hey," she said, turning his head to look at her again. "You are not okay. Please, use your stele and stop playing tough guy."

"I'm fine and someone has to."

"You're right but it doesnt have to be you"

She started to walk away when Jace grabbed her hand. "You scared me, Clary. You weren't in the place I told you to stay."

"When do I ever listen to anyone?"

"I thought you were dead, Clary! I thought you were dead until we found a weeping red head. I wouldn't have forgiven myself if I couldn't find you or if I found you dead," he said. "It would be entirely my fault and I—"

Clary put her hand on his cheek. "Jace, I'm okay."

He kissed her and whispered in her ear. "I know."

**_How did you like it? Please let me know! I'll be posting sometime next week if anyone wants to message me about what they would like to add. I'll take suggestions. :)_**

**_~Tiliger_**


	3. Chapter 3

**_Here is the next chapter to It No Longer Matters. Enjoy._**

**_~Tiliger_**

Alec didn't want to talk to his sister but he listened to her as she yelled at him. Usually he would yell back but this time was different. He didn't care who yelled at him or that he was being yelled at. He cared about finding Magnus. Why, he didn't know. Alec knew they broke up but he was still concerned about him. In other words, he was still in love with a warlock named Magnus Bane.

"How many times do we have to have this conversation," Isabelle asked. "I am tired of telling you that you can't be making jackass remarks when Jace is showing his vulnerable side. We rarely see that side of him!"

"Okay, whatever," Alec said, not really showing any interest. "I'm sorry, can we drop it?"

"By the Angel, you're acting like the old Jace."

Alec glanced behind him and saw Clary put her hand on Jace's cheek. Alec groaned. "Why do they have to get all romantic in a war zone?"

Isabelle looked at him. "It's your own fault, you know. You shouldn't have been laughing at Jace's vulnerable moment."

"And he shouldn't have said what he did. Guess we both said something we shouldn't have but do I look like I'm really affected by it?" Alec started walking farther and farther ahead of Clary and Jace with his sister hot on his heels. "I don't care anymore, Iz. I don't care that we found Clary. I don't care that her parents are dead."

"Alec—"

"Don't 'Alec' me," he snapped. "Max and Aline are dead and the chances of mom and dad being alive are very slim!"

Alec's sister looked at him in pure horror. "And you know what," Alec said, "Simon is probably dead, too."

Isabelle showed very little emotion but he saw the hurt in her eyes. "Even if he is dead, I won't stop looking for him," she said sharply. "I will find him, even if I die doing it."

"Don't you get it!? There is never a happy ending. They don't exist. Take Clary for example. Her best friend is missing, her mom is dead and so is her psychopath of a farther, her brother is a murder, Luke is dead, and Jace isn't Jace anymore! That doesn't seem like a happy ending to me."

"Quit it. Quit acting like the old Jace! You are only acting like this because Magnus broke up with you, Alec." Alec saw Isabelle glance back at Jace and Clary and then back to Alec. "Clary might not have a happy ending but look at her and Jace. They are happy together and that might just be as close to a happy ending as you can get."

Alec saw Clary smile when Jace whispered something in her ear and then saw Jace smile at her smile. "I just don't understand why everyone gets to be happy but me."

"Not everyone is happy, Alec. Remember that girl that came to the Institute last week? Laney Highscar?"

"No."

"Alec, you do, too. You saw how she looked."

Alec sighed as he remembered the 15 year old Shadowhunter from Chicago. Laney's mother had shown Jace and Alec a picture of her when she was younger. Her hair was brownish-red and it was curly. Her eyes were bright hazel and she was smiling. When they met her later that day her hair was straight but still the same color and her eyes looked dead with the dark makeup around them. She didn't have that cute little smile she had when she was 10.

"She's depressed, so what? So are a lot of teenagers. You can't compare me to a little girl," Alec complained.

"She's not a little girl, she's short but not a little girl. Did you ever actually talk to her other than when you first met her and when you were training her?"

Alec shook his head.

"Well Clary and I did. She went through a horrible break up the week before. So yes, I can compare you to her because you are going through the same things as her."

Alec rolled his eyes. "Fine, but this still doesn't make me feel any better."

"I just wanted you to know that you weren't alone. And Laney recognized that you were going through a break up. She told me that she wanted me to tell you that you are not alone."

"How would she know?"

"She was depressed long before her boyfriend broke up with her but she got worse after the break up. Just like you."

Alec said nothing.

"Clary asked her why she acted happy when she was actually really depressed. Laney said she acts the way she does around everyone because she doesn't want anyone to feel the way she does. She tried for days to get you to smile or to laugh. She finally gave up when you yelled at her to pay attention to what Jace was showing her. Maybe you should think about that." Isabelle left her brother and walked back to Jace and Clary.

Alec looked down at the ground and sighed. Maybe Laney did mean well. He just never saw the point of being happy after Magnus broke up with him. He made a mental note to call Laney and apologize for how he acted.

**_So how was it? You learned a little bit about this new character I came up with (Laney Highscar) and you will be seeing her later on in the story. Let me know if you want a certain characters point of view. I'll be posting the next chapter sometime this week or next. Please Review. _**

**_~Tiliger_**


	4. Chapter 4

**_I'm back with a new chapter! _**

**_~Tiliger_**

It was 5 o'clock in the morning by the time Jace crawled into bed with Clary. Clary had fallen asleep almost immediately while Jace was wide awake. He had no reason to sleeping that night for his thoughts kept him up as they raced around and around in his head. He thought of Julian, the boy that was called Jules. Jace was fighting Sebastian when the kid went down. He remembered the boy fighting until his very last breath when the blade cut his throat. Blood came pouring out.

Blood. Jace shivered at the thought. Jules was young, too young to be fighting. He wondered if his parents knew that he snuck out with that girl, Emma. Both of them were dead and they weren't even 13 yet. Another life wasted, another life taken by Sebastian and his army.

Jace quickly got up from his spot next to Clary and went quietly into the hall. He walked to the library in hope of finding a book to read and not being discovered until it was time to start the search for the Dayligter. Instead he found a weeping Isabelle curled up in a ball on the window seat. She was clutching a comic book.

"Isabelle," Jace said.

She looked up and wiped away her tears. "Hey, Jace, I was just, um, reading one of Simon's comic books," she said holding the small book up.

"Really? Well I'm no expert but I'm pretty sure that the book needs to be open in order for it to be called reading."

She smiled but that smile was soon gone. "Jace, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, what is it," Jace asked as he looked through dozens of books.

"What was it like?"

"What was what like?"

"Thinking that Clary was dead and that you would never see her again?"

He laughed. "You don't want to know that. I mean, I don't know about you but I would rather hear about Church attacking the new girl. It seems like a funny—"

"Jace, please."

Jace turned to face Isabelle, who had gotten up from her seat and wondered close to Jace. He looked at her and sighed. "I felt like I lost the good that was left in me. Like my heart was ripped from my chest and I was left empty." He sat down on the couch and Isabelle curled up next to him. "Why do you want to know?"

She shrugged. "I guess I'm trying to compare my pain with yours."

"He will be found, Iz," Jace said. "I know that promises mean nothing these days but I promise that I will do whatever it takes to make you happy again. It hurts to see my sister and girlfriend moping around—"

"I'm not moping," Isabelle snarled.

He smiled. "Yes because girls who are totally okay and happy, cry into a comic book of their boyfriends."

He felt a tear hit his bare chest. Isabelle's voice shook. "I just want him back, Jace."

"I know," Jace said as he stroked her hair.

She soon fell asleep and Jace picked her up and carried her down the hall to her bedroom. He tucked her in and left. Instead of going back to the library, he headed to the training room instead. Maybe he would be able to get some of his anger under control.

~Simon~

Simon woke up and looked around and saw nothing. He had somehow gotten to Maine and had fallen asleep in an ally when he heard his phone ringing. When he grabbed it out of his pocket, he realized it wasn't a call or a text message. The phone was telling him it was dead. He sighed and put it back in his pocket. He stood up and walked to the open sidewalk and began walking. He didn't know what part of Maine he was in but he knew that somehow someway he was going to get back to Isabelle and Clary.

**_So how was this chapter? I gave you a tiny bit of Simon's point of view. I was struggling with this part for about an hour because I could figure out how I would introduce Simon back into the picture. Pleas review!_**

**_~Tiliger_**


	5. Introducing Delaney Highscar

**_You guys are lucky I love you so much or else I wouldn't be posting this until next week. Make sure to thank DelanieHope for her review that threatened me to update my story. I'm kidding, it didn't threaten me. :) Okay so this chapter is about Jace and Alec meeting Laney Highscar for the first time so technically it isn't an actual chapter. It's just so you guys can get a little bit of knowledge on how Laney acted when she met them._**

**** Jace and Alec walked into the Library. They were greeted by Mayrse and a short brunette with dark make up. Jace pitied the girl when he looked at her eyes. They were hazel and looked dead. She had bags under her eyes and she looked like she hadn't slept in days.

"Jace, Alec, this is Delaney Highscar from the Institute in Chicago. She will be with us for the next few weeks," Mayrse said. "Delaney, these are my sons, Jace and Alec. They will be training you."

Everyone muttered their hellos as Mayrse left the room.

It was silent for a few minutes and it was Jace who was the first to say anything. "So, Delaney—"

"Please call me Laney, all of my friends do."

"Well okay then, Laney. You look very different from the picture you mom showed us earlier."

She glared at him. "That picture was taken when I was 8. Of course I look different."

"Aren't you like 12? It wasnt that long ago."

"I'm 15!"

"Why are you so short then?"

"Because I am, anymore stupid questions or do you have a notebook full of them?"

Jace looked at Alec and laughed. "This should be fun."

Alec rolled his eyes and looked at Laney. "Well, we should start you training. I'll show you to your room and I assume you already have training gear?"

She nodded bending down to pick up her bag that was slightly opened.

The 3 of them walked down the hall in silence. Jace looked at the girl. She was wearing black skinny jeans, black converse, and a black t-shirt that had a skull on it. The black clothing made her look even paler than she already was. The only thing with color was her hair. Now that he looked at it, her hair was more of a reddish-brown than it was brown. He looked at her bag. There was a spiral notebook sticking out of the top of it. Jace smirked at himself and lightly grabbed it out of her bag.

"Put it back," Laney said, her back still towards Jace.

"Put what back," Jace asked.

"The notebook that you took from my bag and that you are now putting behind your back," She said, still not looking at him.

"How do you know that? Your back is still turned to me."

She whipped around and glared at him. "Give it back."

"The Death of Me Yet? Sounds like a morbid title," Jace said, reading the title page.

"Jace," Alec said. "Give it back and quit being a jackass."

"Or else what? She's 12 what is she going to d—"

His sentence was cut off by him hitting the floor when someone did a leg sweep. "I am 15 years old and I don't like it when people tell me that I look like I'm 12," Laney said as she put her foot on Jace's chest. "And one more thing, don't touch my stuff."

She moved her foot and picked up her notebook from the ground. She shoved it back into her bag.

Alec helped Jace up and looked at the little girl who had taken her cell phone out. Jace was also staring at the girl. He was completely shocked by what the girl had done.

"Laney," Alec said. "Where did you learn to do that?"

"To do what?"

"That leg thing."

"My aunt Lori taught me, she's been my trainer sense I was 8. Why?"

Jace picked at his nails. "Because, most people can't take me down. I'm the greatest Shadowhunter of our generation."

"We'll see about that," Laney said with a smirk. "So where's my room?"

Alec pointed to the door behind him.

"Thanks." She pushed past the two boys and opened the door. She turned and looked at Alec. "What time is dinner?"

"7:30."

"Great, thanks." With that said she slammed the door in their faces.

"Well," Jace said walking down the hall. "She seems nice."

"Yeah, she seems like a peach," Alec said sarcastically. "Hey I got to go tell Isabelle about this girl, see you at dinner."

"Yeah, see ya," Jace called after him as he walked down the hall. Jace walked back to his room and couldn't help but wonder who that girl was and most importantly, what was in that notebook.

**_Well, what do you think of her? Seems like a bitch, right? Maybe, maybe not. I know it's short but I'll update by tomorrow with the next chapter. Next chapter is in Laney's point of view. Review! _**

**_~Tiliger_**


	6. Chapter 5

_**Hey guys! Okay this is the next chapter. Let me know what you think.**_

_**~Tiliger**_

Laney Highscar woke up early that morning. 6 o'clock in the morning was very early but she was used to it. Alec and Jace had made her wake up last week at 6 to start her training. She groaned as she pulled herself out of bed, knowing that she would be by herself again. She was alone yesterday, too. In fact, she had trained by herself for almost a week because everyone was fighting a war back in Idris.

She exchanged her baggy basketball shorts and t-shirt for her tight training gear that made her feel like she was suffocating. Laney walked out of her room and down the hall to the kitchen for a quick snack. When she arrived, she grabbed an apple and looked around. The kitchen was still the same as she had left it the day before. The fresh apples were still in a bowl and not touched by anyone but her, empty plates were still piled in the sink, and her notebook was still on the table.

She took a bite of her apple and started down the hall again. There were pictures of the Lightwood children everywhere. Isabelle looked beautiful as always, Alec looked like he was faking a smile, Max was to distracted by the book in his hands to even notice that someone was taking a picture, and Jace looked like he'd rather be anywhere else but taking a picture. Isabelle had told Laney that she reminded her of Jace.

_"I'm sorry," Laney had said. "I guess I'm still working on that."_

_Clary had looked at her with a frown. "Your parents don't know, do they?"_

_"Know what?"_

_"That you're depressed," she asked._

_Laney shook her head._

_"I read your story that you wrote," Isabelle said. "I shouldn't of but I did and I knew right away that it was about you, a girl trying to escape from her own mind. You remind me so much of Jace that it scares me. He was just like you. He acted like he was fine, he would make a joke out of everything, still does, but he didn't care if it hurt anyone. He's a great warrior and so are you. He kept to himself and refused to tell anyone anything about himself until Clary came along. Did you get the scars to young?"_

Laney had ignored that question. She has been ignoring since day one. She sighed and turned the corner. She went into the training room to start her day.

"I thought you went home, Highscar," said a voice from above her. She looked up and found Jace sitting on one of the rafters.

"I did," she said, rolling her eyes as he jumped down.

"We created a portal and you went through it, why did you come back?

She shrugged.

"We've been gone for a week," he said. "Have you been here by yourself?"

"Yeah, I've been waking up early and training until about 7 o'clock at night. I had nothing else to do and I couldn't go home, so I kind of had no choice."

"What do you mean you had no choice?"

"Can we drop it? I need to start my training or else I'm going to fall behind." Laney walked away from Jace with her sword that she had used the previous day and climbed on top of the rafters. Jumping from beam to beam, she practiced her jabbing and flips. She landed on her tiptoes each time. She looked down and saw Jace staring up at her.

"You're going to fall of you keep doing that with your foot," he said.

She rolled her eyes and began running on top of the beams. Laney started into a front handspring. She felt her hands hit the beam and felt her foot miss the second beam. Before she knew it, she was on her back looking up at the ceiling. Jace looked down at her.

"Your foot work is still really sloppy. Next time, try not to use your tiptoes and this," he motioned around him, "isn't cheerleading. You are going to get hurt if you keep trying to do stunts like that."

He held his hand out to help her up but she pushed it away and got up on her own. "I don't do cheerleading! Cheerleading is for girls who are happy and popular, not for girls like me."

"And what type of girl would you be considered," he asked.

"A dangerous one," she said darkly.

Jace laughed. "Do you want to know what type of girl I think you are?"

"No, but you're probably going to tell me anyways."

"I think you're a girl who doesn't know who she is and is trying everything she can to break out of the chains that bind her."

"I don't need to hear this," Laney said, walking away.

"Oh, yes you do," Jace said, grabbing her wrist.

"I don't like people touching me," she said through her teeth.

"You're the type of girl who makes herself look bad on purpose, that way no one gets too close to her to actually get to know what's she's really like and that way you can never get hurt." Jace sighed and looked the girl in the eyes. "I know that your ex-boyfriend Kyle broke your heart."

"How did you—"

"Isabelle told me. And I know you're depressed, I know how that feels. I know how it feels to want to die," Jace said "

"I never said—"

"No but you thought it. You have thought about death and suicide to the point where you're afraid that your thoughts are going to be the death of you yet."

"No."

"Yes, and I can see you are trying so hard not to cry right now. I can tell that you got the scars to young and you've had screaming nightmares ever since."

Laney looked at him and said nothing. How had he guessed that she got them to young?

"Tell me if I'm wrong, you cut yourself off from the both the mundane and shadowhunting world, you push people away, you build barriers all around you, and you write stories and read books to escape your life. Am I right?"

Laney said nothing and felt a tear roll down her cheek.

Jace let go of her wrist and started throwing daggers at the target. "The girl who seemed unbreakable, broke," he mumbled under his breath.

Laney heard him. She whipped the tear away, picked up a dagger and threw it at Jace, who was collecting his daggers from the target. She missed his head by inches.

"I'm sensing," Jace said, "that you don't like me."

"If you tell anyone about me getting my scars to young, I will kill you," Laney threatened.

"How old were you?"

She sighed. "I was 5. It happened in Idris. My dad warned me to stay away from the forest but my curiosity got the better of me. I was chasing a rabbit when it happened. I ran into the middle of demon hunt. I had no idea at the time that the forest was called Demon's Forest."

"Oh."

"Yeah, well whatever. I was stupid back then."

"You were 5. You didn't know any better."

"I guess not."

**_So how was it? Well, I know some of you have been asking me when Sebastian comes into the story. He will be in either be in the next chapter or the one after that. Until then, review! _**

**_~Tiliger_**


	7. Chapter 6

_"__Your boyfriend is dead. I thought you should know," Sebastian said, blood covered his hands._

_ "No," Isabelle screamed and fell to her knees. "He can't be! He and I were supposed to—"_

_ "Get married," he asked. "You can't have a life with a vampire. They don't age and they have no heart and they feel no pain. I doubt he even loved you."_

_ "Simon felt all the pain in the world. He had a future and you robbed him of it! He wasn't like the others, he wasn't a monster. You, Sebastian, are the one with no future. You are the one who know love or feel pain! You are the monster," Isabelle spat. She stood up, her hands in fists. "You were always the monster from day one." _

_ Sebastian smiled and grabbed a dagger from his weapon belt. "Aren't all the Downworlders the same, though? Part demon? Part monster? You should be thanking me for ending his pain when I did. He would have to live thousands of years watching everyone he has ever loved or cared for, die. Did you want that for him? Did you want him to suffer?"_

_ "GO TO HELL!"_

_ "The only one going to hell is your Simon. And of course Jace," Sebastian said motioning behind him. _

_ "What," Isabelle asked as she pushed past Sebastian to her stepbrother's aid._

_ Jace was on the ground. His right hand was keeping pressure on a wound that was on his stomach. His golden eyes were dull and his hair was matted with blood. He was pale and blood running down from his mouth. _

_ "Jace," she said as she kneeled down next to him, taking his left hand in hers. _

_ "I'm sorry, I-Isabelle. I tried to stop him from k-killing Simon but I…" he broke off as he coughed up blood._

_ Isabelle glared at Sebastian. "What did you do to him?"_

_ Sebastian smiled his evil smile. "I simply stabbed him with a seraph blade that can be used on Shadowhunters."_

_ She turned her attention back to Jace. "Where is he? Where's Simon?"_

_ "I-I don't know."_

_ "Jace, please!"_

_ "I'm sorry," Jace said. He took his last breath._

_ Tears raced down Isabelle's cheeks. "Jace! God damn it, I thought you were stronger than this!" She clutched onto his body, wishing that she could find Simon. "I hate you, Sebastian. I hope you rot in hell."_

_ She heard him laugh as he walked away._

_ All of the sudden someone grabbed her arms. "Let go!"_

_ "Isabelle, calm down," Clary yelled. "It's okay."_

_ "Simon is dead and so is Jace!"_

_ "No, Isabelle! You're dreaming, you have to wake up!"_

_ "No," Isabelle cried, letting go of Jace. "No, I am not dreaming!"_

_ "Isabelle, look at me," Clary said, holding Isabelle's wrists. "Look at me and wake up. Wake up."_

* * *

Isabelle quickly sat up, hitting her head on something hard. She looked around and saw Clary sitting on top of her, holding her wrists in a death grip.

"Damn it, Clary," she said. "That really hurt."

Clary let go of her wrists and put her hand to her head. "Yeah well it wasn't that pleasant for me either. Are you okay? I could hear you screaming from Jace's room."

"I was screaming?"

"Yeah, it woke me up," she said as she moved off of Isabelle and sat next to her. "I ran in here and you were screaming as loud as you could. You tried punching me when I grabbed your wrists. You kept on saying that Simon and Jace were dead."

Isabelle pulled her knees into her chest and rested her head on them. "I could have sworn it was real. Every bit of it. From Sebastian telling me Simon was dead, to Jace's last breath. I felt like I couldn't breathe. I never feel like that, Clary."

"It was just nightmare, Isabelle. I've woken up so many times in the past few months screaming because I keep dreaming of everyone being dead," Clary said, rubbing Isabelle's back.

"I have had plenty of nightmares but not ones like this. Not one where I woke up screaming or where I couldn't breathe. It all felt so real. And right now," she said to her red-headed friend, "I feel pathetic."

"You are not pathetic, Isabelle. You may not be completely human but you feel like one does. You are still part human. Even the strongest break at some point, look at Jace. Hell, look at Laney! She doesn't show emotion at all and she's strong but you and I both saw her guard go down—"

"But it went right back up as if it never went down. She is unbreakable and she is not pathetic, she is strong. Stronger then she should be but for her it's okay."

"Dont you see? That's the point. She is strong but at some point she will break. She will drop the fake smile she gives everyone and she will come out and say what has held her back from showing emotion. You get my point, don't you?"

Isabelle sighed and looked at the girl who had become almost like a sister to her in the past few months. "Yeah, yeah I do."

_**I added a dream that had Sebastian in it. I have an idea on how im going to enter him into the picture and this wasnt the right moment to do it. please review! I promise I will update soon. Maybe this weekend or Monday. Until then.**_

_**~Tliger**_


	8. Chapter 7

_**Here's the next chapter. I keep forgetting to do the disclaimer so here it is.**_

_**Disclaimer: Highscars are my creation everything else belongs to Cassie Clare.**_

_**~Tiliger**_

"Again with the fricken toes," Jace called up to Laney who was up on the rafters doing more flips. "How many times do I have to tell you not to point them? It's why you're getting hurt."

"No, I'm getting hurt because you keep distracting me! You're making me nervous," Laney said hanging upside down on one of the beams.

"I make everyone nervous," he smirked. "You're just jealous that you're not as good as me."

"And there's the annoying ego everyone seems to be talking about."

Jace rolled his eyes. "Just do it again, this time no tiptoes, got it?"

She rolled her eyes too. "Whatever."

"Do you want to tie a rope to you wast so you don't hit the floor when you fall?"

"Ropes are for pansies," she laughed as she pulled herself up and started her flips again.

Jace laughed and went over to the punching bag. He started kicking and punching it.

"Where have you been?" Jace turned around to see Clary with her hands on her hips. Her red hair was up in a bun and she was wearing one of his t-shirts.

"Hey, babe," he said going up to her and kissing her on the cheek.

"I woke up and you were gone, Jace. Did you even sleep at all?"

"I don't need sleep, I need answers."

"Well," Clary said, "you're not going to get answers if you don't sleep. What are you doing anyways?"

"Training," Jace said as he turned to pick up a dagger on the floor.

"That's all you ever do," she muttered.

"What," he asked turning back towards her.

"Nothing, nothing at all."

"Clary—"

"I said nothing," she snapped. "Now drop it."

Jace rolled his eyes. _Here we go again, _he thought to himself. Every time she said drop it and he dropped it, she would get mad at him. "You said something."

"So?"

"What did you say? It's a simple question, babe."

She stayed silent.

He threw his hands up in surrender and walked over to the target painted on the wall. "Whatever, don't say anything."

He heard her sigh. "All you do is train. I understood last week that you had to train Laney but even before then. It's all you do, Jace."

Jace leaned against the wall and looked at her. He really looked at her. She wasn't looking at him; she was looking at her feet and fidgeting with her hair. She looked upset. In fact, she looked like she was about to cry. She always did these days.

"Sebastian is still out there and if I don't train, then I won't have a chance against him. I need to train in order for me to protect you, Clary. You are my life and if something happened to you, I wouldn't forgive myself."

"I don't need to be protected, Jace. I just need you. With everything that's happening, you fade further and further away and I'm left alone." She looked up at Jace, tears forming in her eyes. "I just really need you now."

Jace left his spot on the wall and put his arms around Clary. "You are never alone, Clary. I'm always there when you need me."

She pushed away from him. "No you're not! I've needed you for the past few weeks and you weren't there. I needed you and you weren't there, Jace. You might be here but not all of you."

Jace sighed. "I know. I'm just trying to do what's best for everyone right now. And I guess that it's not best for us. I'm sorry, I'm going to try to be there for you more often, I promise"

"Okay," she said, walking away.

Jace grabbed her hand and pulled her towards him. He started kissing her and she kissed back. They kissed for a while until someone cleared their throat.

Jace and Clary looked up to find Laney hanging upside down on one of the beams.

"Do you guys have to do that in front of me," she asked. "I mean, come on, it's a training room, not a bedroom."

Jace laughed. "You shouldn't have come in here then."

"I've been in here. Since 7am, training."

"Oh yeah, I forgot you were in here."

"How did you forget? You were the one yelling at me less than 10 minutes ago."

Jace shrugged.

"God, I feel like I just walked in on my sister and her boyfriend having sex," Laney said with a shiver.

"You have a sister," Clary asked.

"Yeah, her name is Grace. She's at college right now," she said pulling herself up to stand on the beam.

"She's a Shadowhunter, shouldn't she be training?"

"No, she's the good child and does whatever mommy and daddy tell her to do," Laney said with sarcasm. "They wanted us to go to college when we hit 18. Grace wanted to go. I don't. I'm a shadowhunter, it's what I'm good at. I was never good at academics when they tried putting me into school."

She flipped down off the beam and stuck a perfect landing.

"See," Jace said. "I told you it was the toes."

"Actually, I landed on my tiptoes. That probably won't be able to do that again." She walked past Jace and Clary. "I'll be at Barns N' Noble, I heard that another book came out for one my favorite series and that the author is sighing them. See you later."

Laney left the room, leaving Jace and Clary alone.

"Did you know that she had a sister," Jace asked.

"No, did you?"

He shook his head. He realized he knew almost nothing about that girl.

_**And yeah, that's it for this chapter. Still working on my homework but I took a break to write this. Review!**_

_**~Tiliger**_


	9. Chapter 8

Alec Lightwood sat in a booth around 8pm at Taki's with Isabelle and Jace. Clary had decided not to come because she needed to figure out what she was going to do with Luke's apartment and the book store. And then he found out that Laney was back but Jace said she was out at the bookstore. He didn't know she read books.

"Alec," Jace said, not looking up from his phone. "I need your help with training Laney. She refuses to listen to me."

"Wouldn't be the first time someone didn't listen to you," he muttered. "Maybe she doesn't like you."

"Don't be ridiculous, everyone likes me."

"Just keep telling yourself that, Jace."

Isabelle giggled and pulled her phone out of her high-heeled boot. She immediately frowned and put it away. She then looked down at her food that had just arrived and played with her french-fries.

"Still nothing from Simon?"

She shook her head. "I tried calling his phone but its dead. What about Magnus?"

"No." That was a lie. He heard from Magnus around 6 a.m. that morning. He had just fallen asleep when his phone began to scream out. He answered in a sleepy voice but was wide awake when he realized it was Magnus. Magnus had told him not to worry and that he was safe in the Institute in London. He told Alec that Simon, or Sheldon as Magnus had called him, was somewhere in Vermont by now and to be expecting him tomorrow. With that said Magnus said farewell and he hung up.

Of course he would never tell Isabelle that he knew where Simon was. He probably would never hear the end of it. So for now he would lie to his sister, his brother, and his brother's girlfriend. It was better for everyone. For now, anyways. Sure, they could all use some good news for once but maybe it was the wrong kind of bad news. Did that make sense? Probably not. Alec sighed and looked down at his food.

"Tell me again why we came here," he said to no one in particular.

Isabelle said nothing and Jace looked at the food in front of him. He made a face. "Because Isabelle thought it would be a good idea to come here and eat, when that was really code for 'Let's just try to act like nothing happened' in Isabelle language."

"No it's not! You always do this, you always try to blame everything on me and it's not fair. I was hungry and you all complain about my cooking so I figured we might as well come here where you will actually eat," she said, glaring at Jace.

"I don't blame things on you, but it was your idea to come here."

"You didnt have to come, Jace. You could have stayed and helped Clary but we all know you 2 are still trying to patch up the holes in your relationship." She pushed her food away and got out of the booth. "See you at home." And with that, she left.

Alec saw Jace roll his eyes. "I thought," Alec said, "that you and Clary were fine."

"Yeah, so did I. I'm getting tired of girls, man. First, Laney does everything in her power to keep things from us. Did you know she had a sister?"

Alec shook his head.

Jace continued. "Then Clary told me that I'm not there for her, which is complete crap, and now Isabelle, who knows whats up with her. Why can't they all just chill?"

"Because they're girls and they are all falling apart," Alec suggested.

Jace snorted at that. "Yeah, that's always the excuse, isn't it?"

"Maybe because we are broken."

The boys turned to see Laney with her arms crossed. Her hair was wavy and she was wearing jean shorts and a half shirt. "But then again boys always claim to know girls better than they know themselves, which is also complete crap, Jace."

"This isn't a book store, what are you doing here?"

"Meeting up with some friends," she said pointing to the table of 6 in the far corner. There were 5 blonds and a brunette looking in their direction.

"You brought mundanes in here," Alec asked.

"Don't be stupid," she snapped. "They're my friends from Chicago, shadowhunters. They heard our favorite author was signing books so they came up here, we're heading to the book store after this." She turned away from the boys to walk away but stopped and looked over her shoulder. "Maybe you need to take another class on how to notice the people or supernatural around you." And with that said, she walked back to the giggling table of the blonds and brunette.

The boys looked at each other and pushed their food away. Alec and Jace crossed their fingers that Laney didn't tell Isabelle or Clary what they said.

_**I know it's short and I know I put this at the end of almost everything but I'm done with my summer homework so I'll be posting again tomorrow. I start school the 14th so don't expect anything until the weekend. Until the kids!**_

_**~Tiliger**_


	10. Chapter 9

It was 4 am by the time Laney got back to the Institute. She quickly got in the elevator and hit the button. She regretted it almost immediately. She had forgotten how loud the damn thing was. As soon as it stopped she got out and looked around. No one was around. Hoping everyone was sleeping, she slowly started walking down the hall checking over shoulder to make sure no one was following her. She was always paranoid. It didn't matter that she was a shadowhunter or that she could easily take down anything or anyone, it was the fact that she was still a bit scared of demons. Greater Demons, that is.

All of the sudden she heard a noise. She quickly turned to see Church 'accidentally' knocking over a flower vase. She hated cats, especially that one. The first night in the Institute, Laney had snuck out of her room around midnight to go to the Library. She had seen a book in there that she had really wanted to read and she didn't want anyone to know that she was a complete book nerd and fan girl. The book had been on one of the higher shelves that she couldn't reach. She had started climbing the book shelf when she encountered Church. 'Nice kitty' she had said. The cat had been right next to the book she wanted. She had slowly reached up to grab it when the cat scratched her arm and she had fallen with a loud thud.

"Stupid cat," she muttered. Church hissed and then scratched her bare foot. Quickly covering her mouth so she didn't scream, she ran down the hall to her room. She shut the door behind her and leaned against it. She closed her eyes and tried to calm her breathing down. When she did, she looked down at her shirt. It was stained with her own blood. Laney sighed. She was tired and now she had to deal with this. She slowly peeled off the half shirt and threw it on the ground. Her skin began to burn.

Laney threw her bag of books on her bed, along with her weapons and purse, and ran out of her room to the Infirmary in her sports bra and short-shorts. She quickly grabbed a stele from one of the cabinets and started drawing the healing rune. Some of the wounds that were on her arms and legs closed up but the one on her stomach remained. "Damn it," she said to herself. She knew she should have gone straight to the Institute.

"Where have you been?"

Laney quickly covered her stomach with her arms and turned to find Jace staring at her. He was shirtless and wearing a pair of sweatpants. His arms were behind his back.

"Why is everyone asking that question," she asked, thinking of how many times it had been used in the past day-in-a-half. "It's really an annoying question. 'Where have you been' training in the training room, in the kitchen, in the Library, in my room, at B—"

"Okay I get it, just answer the damn question," Jace said.

"I was exactly where I told you I would be, Barns N' Noble."

"Barns N' Noble closes at 11, its 4 o'clock in the morning.

She shrugged. "The line was really long."

"Don't lie to me. I can always tell when someone is lying," he warned.

"I'm not," she said, trying not to make a face in pain. "How, uh, how did you know I was in here? Did the stupid cat tell you?"

"First of all, Church isn't stupid, you just don't like him. I don't think he likes you much either. And second of all, your room is down the hall from mine. I heard you shut the door."

"It still doesn't explain how you knew I was in here."

Jace moved his arms from behind his back and threw something on the ground by her feet, something bloody. Right, her bloody shirt. He crossed his arms. "I went to check on you but when I got to your room, the door was open and this was lying on the floor."

"Oh that's from training earlier, I accidentally cut my arm and when I changed clothes, I used that to wipe up the blood," Laney said as her cover up story.

"Really?"

She nodded.

"Then how did you get that cut on your stomach?"

Shit. She quickly came up with another lie. "I was in a book store full of fan girls with books. It was quite dangerous. It's just a paper cut."

"That's a pretty big cut for a paper cut."

Laney rolled her eyes. "Yeah, well it was a pretty big book."

"If it's just a paper cut, then use a stele."

"Seriously, I don't need to."

Jace pulled his stele out of his pocket. "Then let me."

"No, its fine," she said stepping back, dropping the stele that was in her hand. She still had her arms wrapped around her torso and the pain was getting worse.

He stepped forward and grabbed her arm. "It's just a paper cut, right?"

She said nothing and made no effort to argue. She knew soon enough he would know the truth.

He began drawing the healing rune. The swirls connected and it began to burn. It burned a lot. She felt tears threatening to spill from her eyes but kept quiet and quickly yanked her arm away. She stumbled backwards and slowly slid down the wall, the bleeding continued. She let her legs straighten and let her arms lay limp at her sides.

"You lied to me," Jace said, looking down at her. "Where were you really?"

"I was at the bookstore!"

He yanked her up by the arm. "This," he yelled, pointing to her stomach, "is not something that happens at a bookstore! You better start explaining because that rune should have healed that."

He still had hold of her arm. She was kind of glad he did because it was the only thing keeping her from clasping on the floor. "I didn't lie when I said I went to the bookstore. Go check in my room, there's a bag of books on my bed."

"Oh no, I saw them and I also saw your weapons. They were covered in demon blood. And your purse was ripped to. That doesn't explain the cut. What happened," he asked in an angry voice. Whenever he talked to her, it always seemed like he was pissed.

"My friends and I got attacked, okay?"

"Are any of them hurt?"

"No, they're all fine. They should be in Chicago by now."

He looked at her, his grip tightening. "When did this happen?"

"Around three, after we left Taki's we went to the bookstore to get our books signed. We left and went to see a movie and got out around 12:30. We all forgot about the curfew because we never get to stay out past 11. We went to the park and hung out. Before we knew it, it was already 2:30 and they had to get home before their parents got too worried but I had to show them where the train station was because they're a bunch of blondes and they didn't remember where it was," she said, trying to avoid Jace's eye.

"What happened next?"

Laney tried moving her arm but Jace's grip was to strong. She started to forget how much her stomach hurt because her arm was matching that pain. _Stupid Jace. _"We got to the train station and it was completely deserted. So we looked at the train schedule and found out that the train didn't come for another 5 minutes. We all lodged out on the benches and that's when all of this happened."

She took a deep breath and groaned in pain.

"What?"

"You're killing my arm! Let go or else I won't tell you the f***ing story!"

His grip loosened a little but not a lot. "You're going to tell me the story either way, Delaney!"

"I heard Brooke scream and I looked up. There was a greater demon holding her upside down, and the rest of my friends were too shocked to do anything. I grabbed my daggers and weapons and started attacking. I cut its arm and it dropped Brooke. She screamed when its stinger went for my stomach. I jumped back just in time. I yelled for Brooke to snap the rest of them out of shock and get on the train. She listened and they all got on the train. I told them I'd hold it off for as long as I could so they should leave. As soon as the train was out of sight it cut my stomach and I ran."

"Who sent it?"

Laney pulled away from him and leaned against the wall. She gasped in pain as the skin burned. "I-I don't know."

"You must! Has anyone been out to get you?"

She said nothing.

"Who sent it?!"

Laney dug her nails into the wall to steady herself. She felt like she was going to pass out. "I cant tell you, I'm sorry but I cant. You just have to trust me on this."

_**What did you think? Please review! And I'll post next weekend.**_

_**~Tiliger**_


	11. Chapter 10

_**HERE"S THE NXT CHAPTER!**_

_**~TILIGER!**_

Five days later, everyone was either in a better mood or they weren't. Simon had come late one day and everyone was happy for about an hour. Isabelle's nightmares had disappeared because her boyfriend was back, Clary was a little better but still cried herself to sleep every night with Jace holding her, and Alec had left three days earlier in order to find Magnus. He wouldn't tell anyone where he was going he or how he planned on finding him, although Jace had a feeling Alec knew where he was. Alec just said that he wouldn't be back for a few days. Jace didn't argue.

He couldn't argue, not with the girls having their stupid mood swings. He was glad that Simon was back because it meant one less girl to worry about. Jace had spent the past week trying to comfort Clary and be there for her while also trying to keep an eye on Laney. She had gotten in even more trouble since the Greater Demon attack. The night after she was attacked, she tried sneaking out of the Institute but she wouldn't tell him why. He started checking on her in the middle of the night just to make sure she hadn't snuck out again. She hated him for it. Did he care? Not really.

He looked at the clock that read 2:30 am. He pushed himself off the couch in the library and stood up, time to check on her again. He walked down the hall, cut through the kitchen, and arrived at her bedroom door. He rolled his eyes; she had decorated the door with keep out signs and locking runes that Clary had created. He steadied himself in a ready position and kicked the door open.

"Again," he asked as he entered the room.

Laney was curled up under the covers with her laptop on her stomach and her ear buds in her ears. Her eyes were locked on the screen. "Would you rather I throw daggers at you again?"

"You know I'm just making sure that you don't get hurt again."

"Since when do you care?"

"Are we seriously having this conversation again?"

"Are you seriously going to make me answer a question that you already know the answer too?"

He crossed his arms. "Are you seriously going to answer my question with another question?"

She rolled her eyes. "Are we seriously going to play this game again?"

"Are we?"

"By the Angel, shut up!"

He laughed to himself and looked around the room. Books and notebooks were in piles everywhere, her clothes were in bags and thrown into draws, and her phone was on the floor next to the bed There was also a pile of bandages on the floor with blood on them.

Jace looked at Laney. "I thought you said it stopped bleeding."

"It did but then I fell in the library and it started again."

"Let me see."

She groaned and put her laptop next to her and moved the covers off. She stood up and lifted her shirt up where he could see the cut on her stomach.

"It's getting better."

"Better," she asked. "How is this better? It hurts like hell!"

"And whose fault is that?"

She stared at him but said nothing. Laney gave him a weird look.

"What," he asked.

She shook her head. "You just remind me of my friend Owen."

Jace smirked. "And who is Owen?"

"Family friend who is over-protective. He's like the big brother I never had."

"And how do I remind you of him?"

"Well, you're over-protective of Clary and I fight with you like I do with Owen. I don't know that's all."

He smiled. "Well, okay then. Now can I trust that you've been in here all night?"

"I have hours of Internet History to prove it. Now get of my room."

He left and headed down the hall to his room. Jace hopped that Clary was still sleeping.

_**I'll update tomorrow. And let me just clarify that Laney and Jace are not going to be a couple. I thought it was obvious that Laney kind of hates Jace. Anyways review! **_

_**~Tiliger**_


	12. Chapter 11

Clary sat up in bed and looked at the empty spot next to her. He was gone again. He was always gone when she would wake up in the middle of the night. Of course he would never know that. She knew the only reason he left was because he had to check on Laney and he thought that she would sleep all night and not notice his absence. But she never slept all night.

Her own nightmares would make her wake up screaming and half of the time he would be gone. When he was there, he would still be sleeping. He would jolt awake when she opened the door to the bedroom to go to the kitchen, or to the Library, or even to Simon's apartment to get her mind off the thoughts of her dead parents. She got as far as the elevator once. He had chased her down the hall to stop her.

She pushed herself off the bed and walked over to the door and opened it. She stepped out into the hall and looked around. Silence filled the air. She walked to the elevator and grabbed her hoodie that was hanging by it and pulled it over head, she couldn't find her shoes so she just went barefooted. She hit the button, stepped in and closed the doors behind her. Maybe some fresh air would help clear her head.

Clary walked outside barefooted with just her hoodie and short-shorts on. She sat on the railing outside and leaned again the wall so she could look up at the stars. She found one her favorite stars and said the poem that she learned when she was little.

"I am a falling star

A falling star that has fallen so far

I am a falling star

A falling star with so many scars

Someone please help me

Someone please save me

I'm tired of the lying

I'm tired of the stealing

I hate this faith

Why can't I escape?

I am a falling star

A falling star that has fallen so far

I am a falling star

A falling star with so many scars

Someone please help me

Someone please save me

I want to escape

I want to erase

Why do I feel this why this way

Why am I left in dismay?

Is it because of all my scars?

I know I've done wrong

I know everything I do is wrong

I am a falling star

A falling star that has fallen so far

I am a falling star

A falling star with so many scars

Someone please help me

Someone please save me, from me."

"Where did you learn that," Jace asked as he came outside.

She shrugged. "I saw it when I was little and I kind of memorized it."

"Sounds like something Laney would like."

She said nothing.

"What are you doing out here?"

"Isn't obvious? I'm looking at the stars," she said pointing upwards. "I woke up so I figured why not come out here. It's not like you were there to stop me."

"Clary, I—"

"Was checking on Laney, I know. If she wants to leave, Jace, let her. She's 15."

"This probably doesn't make sense but I feel like she's the little sister that I never had. I mean, she told me I reminded her of some kid that was like the brother she never had."

She smiled and looked at Jace. "From the way you two act, I would have thought you were siblings."

He laughed. "So am I in trouble?"

"Oh yeah, you left again Jace. You know I wake up in the middle of the night all the time."

"I know. I was in the library earlier and I fell asleep in there and then my alarm woke me up. I checked on Laney and then came into our room to find it empty but your phone was still in there. I figured that you were going to Simon' this time so I hurried up and ran out here."

She scooted over and he sat next to her. She leaned against her. "I always felt like I could think better when I star up at the stars but it doesn't work anymore."

He looked down at her. "Then what keeps you focused?"

She looked up at him. "You."

He smiled and kissed her forehead. They fell asleep out there.


	13. Chapter 12

_**REALLY SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING OVER THE WEEKEND. IT WAS LABOR DAY AND I WAS AT A FEW BBQ. ANYWAYS HERE IT IS!**_

_**~TILIGER**_

Gray clouds filled the sky. Everything and everyone was still except for Alec Lightwood, who was running down a street in London. He didn't know where he was, he just knew that he had to find the Institute before it was too late. He rounded the corner and looked behind him. There was no one. He ended up on top of the Tower Bridge. He had no clue how he had gotten up there. He pulled out his phone and stared at it, debating on whether or not he should call Isabelle for help.

Just then his phone rang. He looked at caller id and it was Isabelle…

"Hey, Iz."

"Hey," she said. "Have you found him yet?"

"No, I'm having trouble finding the Institute."

"Where did you say you were, again?"

"I didn't. I'm in London."

"Alec," Isabelle said with a suspicious tone. "You've been gone for 3 days. How are you in London already when you told me you were going to check every Institute?"

He said nothing and started climbing down the bridge.

"Is there something you're not telling us?"

"No," Alec said, felling guilty. "I would never lie to you."

"You just did!"

He rolled his eyes. "Just tell me where the Institute is."

He heard her make an annoyed sound. "Fine, let me ask Jace—"

"No! No, don't ask Jace!"

"Why not?"

"Because I don't need another lecture, that's why."

"I know where it is," Clary said.

_Great_, Alec thought, _just what I need._

"Where, Clary?"

"It's on—"

"Give me the phone, Clary," Alec heard Jace yell.

A few seconds later he heard bickering on the other side of the phone. He heard Isabelle say how it was her phone and now she was the one who called him. He heard Clary say how nobody is actually helping him. And then he heard Jace grab the phone and the girls pouting.

"London," he asked.

"Were you guys all in the same room when Isabelle called?"

"As a matter of fact, yes, we were."

Alec rolled his eyes and started walking down the street. It looked like it was going to rain. "Jace, just tell me where the Institute is and I'll be home by tomorrow night."

"You never told us that Magnus called you." He heard a door close. "Or that you knew where Simon was."

He sighed. "I didn't want anyone to—"

"To what? Hear good news for once? Alec, do you realize how upset Isabelle and Clary were? Your parents are missing and Isabelle was crushed that we didn't know where Simon was. Clary's parents are dead and she thought her best friend was too."

"You're not going to tell them, are you?"

He heard Jace huff. "No. The Institute is right near the Tower Bridge. It's a church."

"Thanks, Jace."

"We're not done talking about this," was all he said before hanging up.

Alec walked up to the gates of the Institute in London. He opened them and walked up to the front door and rang the doorbell.

A boy, no older than 9, answered the door. "Who are you," he asked.

"My names Alec, I'm looking for Magnus Bane. Do you know where he is?"

The boy stared at him before yelling. "Mom, some guy is here!"

A minute later a young woman with red hair came to the door. "Blake, how many times have I told you not to yell for me when there's someone standing in front of you?"

Blake shrugged and went back inside. The mother stayed there. "Hi, I'm Shannon, sorry about Blake. He's always doing that."

Alec smiled. "It's fine. I'm just looking for Magnus Bane; do you know where he is?"

"He should be in the Library, follow me."

He followed Shannon down the long hall that looked a lot like the Institute back in New York. The only thing that was different was the walls. They were filled with pictures of people in clothes from the 1800's.

"So what's your last name?"

"Lightwood.

"Oh, I know your mom, I've been trying to get a hold of her but—"

"She's missing," he said quickly. "So is my dad."

"Oh, I heard a lot of people either disappeared or died after that battle."

"Yeah, a lot."

"So how's your sister, Isabelle right?"

"She's fine. Her boyfriend was missing for a while but we found him."

"And Max?"

Alec looked at his feet. "He died last year."

"Oh," she said. "I'm so sorry to hear that."

"Yeah, it was hard on all of us, Isabelle more than anyone."

He looked at the pictures on the walls. One picture had a girl in a gold dress. She had no runes.

"Shannon, who's that?"

She looked at the picture Alec pointed to. "Oh that's Tessa Gray."

"Who's that in that picture," he asked, pointing to the one next to Tessa's portrait.

"William Herondale, I don't know much about him either."

"Herondale," he asked. "MY best friend's name is Herondale."

"Really," she asked with an excited tone. "Which one? William?"

"Nope."

"James?"

He shook his head.

"Oh, I know. Stephan."

"No, his name is Jace. So what do you know about the Herondales?"

"Nothing really, I just know stuff from stories but Magnus could probably tell you more than I could," she said opening the door next to the picture.

They walked into the room and found Magnus looking at a book.

"Magnus," Shannon said. "Some is here to see you."

He turned. "Alec, what are you doing here?"

"Looking for you."

"I'll leave you 2 alone," Shannon said, walking out of the room.

Magnus looked at Alec. "Did Steven make it back alright?"

"It's Simon, and yes he did."

"How's that Highscar girl?"

"She's fine but she got attacked about a week ago. Why haven't you called since then? I've called you and you've never called back."

Magnus rolled his eyes. "Alexander, I've been busy."

"Busy? Busy with what?"

"I've just been busy with some stuff."

"Busy as in you have things to do here and people to talk to or busy," he said, adding air quotations around the word 'busy.' "as in you didn't want to see me?"

He said nothing and turned away.

"Everyone keeps on telling me to talk to you. 'Talk to Magnus!' 'You need to talk to him, Alec' 'Either call him or put the phone away' 'Just call him already.'" He mimicked Isabelle's, Clary's, and Jace's voice perfectly. "So here I am. Trying to talk to you and I'm getting the cold shoulder."

"It's been hard for me, too."

"Then why haven't you returned my calls?"

Magnus shrugged and looked at Alec again. "Because I didn't know what to say. I might be very old, Alexander, but I still struggle over finding the right words."

"You and me both," Alec said. "Can you please come back?"

"I don't know—"

"We need," he began. "I need you."

_**AGAIN SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING! i DONT KNOW WHEN THE NEXT UPDATE WILL BE BUT I WILL LET YOU KNOW IF ITS GOING TO BE A WHILE! TILL NEXT TIME MY LOVELIES**_

_**~TILIGER **_


	14. Chapter 13

**IT'S BEEN A WHILE GUYS. YOU DONT KNOW HOW SORRY I AM FOR NOT UPDATING IT'S JUST BEEN HARD. I NEED TO WRITE THE NEXT CHAPTER BUT I HAVE 15 16 AND 17 WRITTEN. SO JUST BE PATIENT!**

**~TILIGER**

"You lied, Alec," Jace said, pushing his brother into the Library. "You told us you didn't know where he was and that you didn't have any contact with him."

Alec stumbled backwards. "So what? I have the right to keep my own secrets."

"Not when it involves your own sister! You knew where Simon was, you knew and you didn't tell us," Jace said, he anger clear in his eyes. "Everything could have turned out differently."

"How? How could things have been different, Jace? Clary would still be a mess, Laney still would have been attacked, and I still would be miserable."

"Isabelle wouldn't have had as many nightmares. That counts for something, Alec. Besides, Magnus is back, isn't he? Now you can live happily ever after."

"That's not fair."

"Nothing is fair anymore, Alec! We take what we can get, but the sad part is you can't trust anyone anymore. Not even your own brother."

Jace stormed out of the room leaving Alec behind. Alec hung his head and plopped down in a chair. He put his head in his hands.

"You knew where he was," asked a voice from behind him.

He turned and glanced at his sister. He slowly nodded but said nothing knowing that he was already in huge trouble with everyone else.

"You lied to me," Isabelle said looking at her brother with disgust. "So if you can't be happy then no one can? That's shallow, Alec, even for you."

"He got here, didn't he?"

"It doesn't matter! You lied to me, to Clary, to Jace, to everyone! It was your fault that we were all falling apart. You could have said that he would be okay but no, you couldn't even do that!"

"Iz—"

She put up a hand. "Dont you dare give me an excuse!"

He stood up quickly. "I did what I thought was best for my baby sister!"

"How was that dong whats best for me," she screamed at him. "I barely got any sleep for weeks and you knew! You knew that he was okay! I thought he was dead and you—"

"Yes, I hide it from you! So what, it's over! He's here, you have him, Jace has Clary, and everyone is perfectly fine!"

"Isabelle," called a voice from the hall. Probably Simon's.

"In here," she responded.

Simon opened the door and walked in. The vampire looked completely fine. He didn't understand why everyone was so mad, it's not like he actually died. "There you are I thought you wanted to go see Star Wars tonight?" He glanced over at Alec then back at Isabelle.

She took a deep breath. "Yeah, I do. When does it start?"

"30 minutes," he said. "We should probably go. Are you too fighting again? I can come back," he said, starting to leave.

"No," Alec said. "We're not fighting."

"Yes we are," Isabelle complained.

He rolled his eyes at his sister's childish behavior. "Just drop it, Iz!"

"Don't you dare tell me to drop it," she yelled. "This is not something you can just brush off. You lied! You just lied! Do you even tell the truth anymore or is it all lies?"

"Isabelle, calm down," Simon said, attempting to turn her towards him.

"I don't need to hear this from you too, Simon!" She pushed him away.

"Okay, you know what? I'm just trying to help. Forget about the movie, I gotta go."

He quickly left the room. Isabelle ran after him. "Simon, wait!"

"What," he heard Simon say in a pissed off tone.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean…"

"I'm tired of this, Iz. I'm trying so hard what you need but I don't think I am."

"Simon—"

"I just don't know anymore."

Isabelle came back into the Library with tears streaming down her cheeks. She glared at her brother. "You ruin everything, Alec! I will never forgive you for this."

She ran from the room. A few minutes later there were more footsteps running down the hall. Then the Library door opened again and Clary walked in. "Have you seen Jace?"

Alec shrugged. "He was in here a few minutes ago, but I don't know where he is now."

She sighed. "mkay, thanks." She sounded pissed too. Jace must have said something but she left without saying anything more.

"Today is not your day, my friend," said another voice from above him.

"Is everyone just in the Library today," Alec asked as Laney appeared on the steps to the second floor.

She shrugged. "I guess so. I came in here for another book." She held up a book that said City of Heavenly Fire.

"Simon said you were just in here this morning looking for the City of Lost Souls. What happened to that book?"

"I finished it."

"How you make time to read, write, and to train will forever be a mystery to me."

She laughed. "So what's everyone's problem today? Jace looks like he's about to murder someone, Isabelle looks pissed, Simon seems annoyed, Magnus hasn't been around yet, Clary seems quieter than usual, and you, you just seem drained."

"Drained would be a word for it."

She sat crisscrossed on the desk with the book in her lap. "Want to talk about it?"

"Not really," he said, looking at the ground. "Just relationship issues, you know?"

"Yeah, relationships suck. Mine always ended in disasters. Eric was a mistake, I'd rather him just be a friend. I really liked Richie but he didn't like me, and then there was Kyle… "

"Tell me about this guy."

"He's been my best friend since we were three," she smiled as if she was remembering something special. "Our families grew up together. We started having feelings for each other around age 12 but neither of us said anything till last year."

"So I heard you two broke up."

The smile disappeared. "Yeah, the day before I first came here. So what about you?

"I don't even know," he looked at Laney who was carefully watching him. "Why are you so much nicer to me then to anyone else?"

"Honestly?"

He rolled his eyes. "No I want you to lie to me."

She giggled. "Because I don't know Simon or Magnus, Isabelle gets on my nerves, Clary seems like she's crying for attention, and Jace, he's like the brother I've always wanted. Don't tell him I said that."

"So whats different about me?"

She shrugged. "You're different than the rest of them. You don't try to push me when I don't want to say something. You barley say anything to me at all and it's easier to talk to people like that. And you aren't another Jace so that's a plus."

He smiled to himself. Maybe this girl wasn't so bad, maybe she was just misunderstood. She listened to him all the time but when Jace would try to train her, she'd go all bitchy on him and it was kind of funny. And every once in a while you would see a genuine smile from her. Not one of the fake one of the fake ones she gave when she was being a bitch.

"Well I'm glad you and I got to talk. It's kind of nice having someone to talk to that doesn't get pissed at you for no apparent reason."

"Yeah," she said hugging her knees to her chest. "Me, too."

"What's wrong?"

"You just get tired of it, you know? Acting all bitchy and like nothing can touch you. I actually hate being rude, it doesn't feel right. And I hate hiding how I'm feeling."

"Then why are you rude? We care but you don't let us in."

"It's easier than being pushed around by people."

"Ain't that the truth"

**AND THATS IT FOR NOW, PEOPLE! OK FOR AN UPDATE TOWARDS THE END OF OCTOBER! **

**~TILIGER**


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